Extortion is a serious crime in family law. It happens when one person threatens to accuse someone else of a crime or harm their reputation in order to get money or something else of value. This is against the law in Florida and can result in felony charges. If someone threatens you in this way during a divorce or family law case, it’s important to report it to the authorities. During a divorce, Mr. Turner made threats to Mr. McKee, saying he would ruin his business and reputation. Mr. McKee responded with more threats and was convicted of extortion. The court upheld his conviction, showing that making threats during a divorce can have serious consequences. In family law, people sometimes use threats to get what they want in a divorce. These threats can include revealing embarrassing information, like tax fraud or personal secrets, to try and get a better deal. They might also try to use legal processes to gather information that could be used against the other person. It’s important to have a lawyer who can help protect you from these kinds of threats. Courts have to be careful when asking for financial information because it can harm someone’s reputation and ability to make money. For example, if someone is going through a divorce and their spouse’s lawyer subpoenas their coworkers for information that isn’t important to the case, the person’s lawyer can ask the court to stop it. They can say that the coworkers don’t have important information and that the subpoena is just a way to pressure and harass their client. In settlement negotiations, agreements made because of threats or extortion can be nullified by the courts. For example, a threat to expose someone for a crime, like tax evasion or taking inappropriate photos, is considered extortion and the resulting agreement can be declared invalid. Even if the threat is made during confidential mediation, it can still be brought up in court later. Extortion is a crime and can even lead to prosecution under the RICO Act. However, it can’t be sued for in civil court. Marital and family law can be very emotional. Lawyers need to be careful not to exploit their clients’ emotions for personal gain, as this can be considered extortion and lead to criminal charges. It’s important for lawyers to advise their clients against engaging in extortion, and to address any extortion issues in court to protect their clients and uphold professionalism in the legal community. Some cases where marital disputes led to criminal liability include McKee v. State, Berger v. Berger, Gordon v. Gordon, Cooper v. Austin, and Bass v. Morgan.
William Stolberg has been practicing family law since 1973 and specializes in this area. He is board certified in marital and family law and is a member of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
David Hirschberg practices family law with Gladstone & Weissman, P.A., and has a strong educational background. He is a member of The Florida Bar, Illinois Bar, Broward County, and American Bar associations, and serves as the president-elect of the Broward County Bar Association Young Lawyers Section.
This column is submitted on behalf of the Family Law Section, with Scott Rubin as chair, and Susan W. Savard and Laura Davis Smith as editors. To teach lawyers to be responsible and helpful to the public, make the legal system better, and improve the study of law.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/extortion-what-your-client-wants/
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